Gearing mechanism.



i/(fic'bzesaea H. F. SNYDER.

GEARING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

.I ""I I llllllnmmn e lllillllllllllllllllllllll H. F. SNYDER.

GEARING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

Illlllll'llllllllllllliIlllll Uni HOWARD F. SNYDER, OF NEWTON, IO'tVA,ASSIGNOR TO THE MAYTAG COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF IOWA.

GEARING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HowAnn F. SNYDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newton, county of Jasper, and State of Iowa, have inventednew and useful-Improvements in Gearing Mechanisms, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to means for washing and wringing clothes,and has for its object the provision of a power driven wringer' somounted and secured with re spect to a washing machine that it can beshifted from one position to another while still maintaining its drivingconnection with a motor or other suitable source of power.

More particularly, the invention embraces a wringer. supported above awashing machine on a frame which is movable outwardly, away from thewasher, into operative position above asupplemental or auxiliary tub,with the result that the clothes cleansed in the washer can be wrunginto an auxiliary tub for rinsing, or the like, and later can be Wrunout of the auxiliary tub into a basket or ot er suitable receptacle.

A further object is to provide a device of this kind wherein the wringeris carried on a swinging frame and is supported by the body or tub ofthe Washing machine. This and other objects hereinafter disclosed areattained by the embodiment of the present invention disclosed in thefollowing detailed description which is to be taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of thegearing mechanism assembled in operative position with respect to awashing machine, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of those parts of the gearingwhich. lie below the body of the Washer tub.

In the construction shown, the washing machine comprises a tub I onsuitable legs 2 provided with stifiening cross-pieces 4 and with a cover5 surmounted by the usual gearing 6, whereby the agitator or dollywithin the tub can be driven in the usual manner. The gearing below thetub body, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises an irregular casting having arms7 and 8 for attachment to'legs of the tub and having bearings 9 and 10for the main driving shaft 11 whereon is keyed a large gear wheel 12meshing with a motor inion 13 driven by a motor 14 slung from t ebrackets 15 and 16 which envelop, and are in the nature of supplementalbearings for, the main shaft'll. Bevel gears 17 and- 18 rotatablymounted on the main shaft 11 mesh continuously with a large bevel gear19 keyed to a transverse shaft 20, on the outer end of which is a crankdisk 21 carrying a crank pin 22 from which a driving link extends upwardto make driving connection with the gearing 6 at the top of the tub in amanner which need not here be set forth in detail. A clutch member 23,slidingly mounted on main shaft 11, but having a keyed connectiontherewith, can be moved along that shaft through the agency of a bellcrank 24 to throw either of the bevel gears 17 or 18 into drivingrelation with respect to the main shaft 11 and its motor, for drivingthe transverse shaft 20 in either direction as desired. Asameans forswinging the bell crank 24, recourse may be had to connecting link 25(Fig. 1) pivotally connected to the crank arm 26 of a rock shaft 27extending upwardly along the side of the tub and having a hand grip 28at the edge of the cover whereby the rock shaft 27 may be twisted toshift the clutch 23 as desired. The wringer 29 may be of usualconstruction, provided with wringer shafts 30 and 31 geared together,the lower shaft 31 carrying at its outer end a sprocket wheel 32 overwhich a sprocket chain can be passed to drive the wringer rolls ineither direction. The'end standards of the wringer are rigidly mountedon a horizontal platform or support 34 carried at the upper end ofswinging supports 35, preferably four in number, and arranged inparallel relation, two at each end of the wringer supporting platform34. and connected therewith by pivotal connections 36. The lower ends ofthese parallel supports are pivotally mounted on castings 37 in the formof brackets, bolted to the chime of the tub and each anchored to a legof the tub, as shown in Fig. 1. By virtue of this pivotal mounting ofthe wringer supports, the wringer can be swung outward, as shown indotted lines, into operative position above an auxiliar or rinsing tub38, supported on a suitable c lair or stool 39. The wringer platform 34comes down with a horizontal movement onto the top of the auxiliary tub,irrespective 'of the exact height of that tub, within reasonable limits,and the wringer in its new position is thus conveniently arranged forwringing rinsed clothes out of the auxiliary tub, into a thirdreceptacle not shown, such, for instance, as a basket or another tub.

The driving connection for the wringer,

not only while it is located above the Washer tub, b'ut also when swungoutwardly above an auxiliary tub, includes the sprocket chain 33,above-mentioned, and a driving sprocket 40 mounted on the end of ahorizontal counter-shaft 41 supported by bearings in the brackets 37.This counter-shaft 41, as shown in Fig. 2, carries a bevel gear 42meshing with a bevel gear 43 which is keyed to an inclined auxiliaryshaft 44, but is in sliding engagement therewith, so that shaft 44 canbe moved longitudinally, as by means of a' rigidly mounted collar '45,provided with a shifting hand lever 46 (Fig. 2) pivotally mounted on theside of the tub. The

other end of auxiliary shaft 44 is equipped with .a bevel gear 47 pinnedthereto, this bevel gear meshing with a bevel gear 48 integral with thecrank disk 21. Through the driving connections above set forth, it ispossible to start the wringer in either direction, or to stop itinstantly, by suitable manipulation of the hand grip 28 at the top ofthe tub and within convenient reach of the operator, these manipulationsbein effected through longitudinal shifting o the clutch member 23,either to the right or to the left, or to an intermediate position outof engagement with both bevel gears; also, by shifting hand lever 46,the auxiliary shaft 44 can be slipped through the gear 43 far enough todisengage gear 47 from meshing engagement with gear 48, thereby discon-'necting the wringer from driving connection with the other parts of themechanism and leaving the motor freeto drive the dolly within the tub.The driving connection for the wringeris operative and efiectedirrespective of the exact position of the parallel movement, and thewringer can be swung outward or inward without consideration of thedriving connections, and even while the wringer rolls are in motion.

I am aware that various features of the specific embodiment heredisclosed may be varied without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention, and I desire to reserve as my invention such modificationsand changes as reasonably come within the terms of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent. of theUnited States, is:

1. In a gear mechanism, the combination of a pair of roller shafts,bearing members for said shafts, supporting means to which said bearingmembers are pivoted, driving means mounted in said supporting means, anddriving connections from said driving means to said shafts, said bearingmembers being movable outward equally to a new position whilemaintaining the drlving connection to said roller shafts.

tween said transverse shaft an shaft, an auxiliary shaft which can be 2.In a gear mechanism, the combination of a pair of roller shafts suitablygeared together, bearing members for said shafts, a drive shaft, adriving connection from said drive shaft to one of said roller shafts, asupport for said bearing members, and swinging arms carrying saidbearing support and movable with a parallel motion to shift the positionof said roller shafts while the driving connection thereto ismaintained.

3. In a gearing mechanism, the combination of a reversible shaft, a pairof roller shafts having driving connection therewith, and supportingmeans for said roller shafts, said supporting means being movable with aparallel motion to shift the position of the roller shafts with respectto said reversible shaft while the driving connection therewith ismaintained.

,4. In a gearing mechanism, the combination of a pair of bracketsupports, a counter shaft carried thereby, a sprocket on said shaft adriving chain movable by said sprocket, a pair of roller shaftshorizontally arranged and driven by said chain, and parallel linkspivoted to said brackets and operatively connected to move said rollershafts outward with a parallel motion to a new position while thedriving connection through said chain is maintained.

5. In a gearing mechanism, the combina tion of a shaft, a motor fordriving said shaft, reversing mechanism interposed between said motorand said shaft to reverse the direction of rotation thereof whendesired, a pair of horizontal roller shafts, and a driving connectionbetween said roller shafts and said first named shaft, said rollershafts being movable to swing to a new .op-

erative tion.

6. In a gearing mechanism, the combination of'a motor, a main shaftdriven thereby,

a transverse shaft, reversible earing bei? said main position parallelto their initial posibrought at will into driving relation with saidtransverse shaft, a counter-shaft geared to said auxiliary shaft, asprocket carried thereby, a chain for said sprocket, a roller shaftdriven by said chain, and sup orts for said roller shaft movable outwardy to a new position in which said chain is still in driving engagementwith said roller shaft.

7. In a gearing mechanism, the combination of a motor, a main shaftdriven -thereby, a transverse shaft, a sliding clutch interposed betweensaidmain shaft and said transverse shaft, an auxiliary shaft slidinglymounted to establish-a driving connection with said transverse shaft atthe will of the operator, a counter-shaft geared to said auxiliaryshaft, :1 horizontal roller shaft, driving connection between saidroller shaft and said counter-shaft, and supporting means for saidroller shaft, said means including parallel links movable with aswinging motion to transfer said roller shaft to a new position whilethe driving connection with the counter-shaft is maintained.

8'. In a gearing mechanism, the combination of a pair of roller shaftsgeared together, bearings for said shafts, a platform for said bearings,parallel links pivoted to said platform and movable with a swingingmotion to transfer said roller shafts to new positions parallel withtheir initial positions, a sprocket chain in driving relation to saidroller shafts, a counter-shaft for driving said sprocket chain, bracketssup porting said counter-shaft and pivotally supporting said swinginglinks, an auxiliary shaft for driving sald counter-shaft, a main shaftoperatively connected to drive said auxiliary shaft, a motor geared tosaid main shaft, and a clutch mechanism associated with said main shaftforstarting, stopping or reversing the rotary motion of the rollershafts irrespective of the angular position of said supporting links.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specificationin the presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD F. SNYDER.

Witnesses:

J. R. BOWEN, Grass. 0. RICKER.

